"I wanted to tell you in person: Pete overheard the argument between Elizabeth and Knox. He had the motive to kill her, not so much the other way around. Now with what you told me, there are a lot of new people with a motive to murder Knox. Tech started running Lewis James when the divorce showed up on our radar. We tracked him to Silverton after the divorce finalized. His sister wouldn't talk to us, but we tracked down a maid. She said he came home end of May 1998, and then he disappeared. Usual databases show nothing. Under normal circumstances, you need to sign off on a dark-level search, but considering the situation, I'll take it to Mike. Minimize any conflicts.”
“Good.” Martin leaned in and whispered, “Before we left, I was running a case for Homeland. It looks like the injured child and Austin’s shooting are tied in. I initiated a dark op. DHS found their sixth undercover murdered this morning. According to jail records, they released him yesterday. Jule, he was beaten and sodomized. Mike has the file. I’m putting nothing pertinent in our system.” Martin explained the plan.
“Shit, this isn’t a simple exfil,” Julian worried.
“Troy demanded real charges and the danger that comes with it. Todd Duran at Homeland thinks there’s a leak, but the faucet must stop dripping. I started feeding Homeland fluff; pretend we’re working the case without success. We’re looking at a lot of sleepless nights."
“Call me if you need me. Get some rest if you can."
Before Julian left, he said a prayer for Austin. "Night, fellas."
Martin shared a few minutes with the PAs before reading the addendum Kieran submitted on the Homeland case. The more he read, the more his brain refused to rest.
Friday, July 12th
Elizabeth overslept. It was 5:30—she hadn’t slept that well in years. With no time for breakfast, she prepared a travel mug with coffee.
"It should be Friday the thirteenth instead of the twelfth,” she noted as she observed black skies. Rain and hail pelted her car, and the roads ponded. She grasped the steering wheel with both hands. Today, she was working as the ICU hospitalist for the twelve-hour day shift, in addition to caring for her own patients. With Randy dead, his load fell to her and Steven.
She took a few minutes to stop by her office, hang up her rain jacket, and look at the ER census before she hit the floor. A full ER meant patients coming her way. Grabbing her lab coat and stethoscope, she headed first to visit unidentified female alpha 0709, whom the nurses nicknamed Victoria for surviving.
"Dr. Reed, what brings you to the peds ICU?" Indira Choudhury, a pediatric intensivist, greeted her.
"Checking on Victoria," Elizabeth said.
"Sad case. We don't expect her to make it. You realize personalizing her name will make it harder on you when she doesn't survive?"
The dispassionate tone irritated Elizabeth. "Maybe God's plan is different."
Elizabeth found two nurses caring for the child. Her little body was swollen. "How's she doing?"
"She's running a high fever. Her kidneys are starting to fail," one of the nurses said. Elizabeth brought the little girl's hand to her lips and said a silent prayer. She would give the pediatric surgeon a call later.
On her way to the Adult ICU, she shook off the wave of sadness. She nodded at the Silverton police officer and the two men in khaki pants and black polo shirts at the unit's door. The letters CS were embroidered above the pocket.
Virginia sat at the desk completing her charting. "Good morning," Elizabeth said.
"Good morning to you. Aren't you bright and cheery? Mmm hmm, what’s different about you?"
"Thank you for the compliment? Tell me what I'm walking into." Elizabeth ignored her friend’s probing comments.
"I'll start with Patrick Hedges. Can you say yummy?" Virginia was wide-eyed.
"I hope he's not a patient." Heart rhythms rolled across a set of monitors in front of her. "Darn, I left my coffee on my desk," she grumbled.
Virginia pushed off and rolled back in her seat, feigning fright. "All right, don't bite. Fresh coffee is in the lounge. Beat the vultures; the black and tans at the door brought in some tasty muffins."
"Leave it to you to give the extra security a nickname!" Elizabeth laughed.
"What...? ‘Sex on a stick’ is politically incorrect." Her brow rose.
Elizabeth shook her head at her friend.
"Fine. Austin passed the oxygen trial, and they started the ECMO wean. Hedges arrived before dawn and hasn't left the room. There are two PAs per shift. They are sharp and yummy too. Well, three out of four, and I guess four if you like women. Mrs. Whelan had a huge blow out with her husband last night. We had to call security. She's had chest pain on and off since. Cardiac enzymes are negative times two. She responded well to nitro."
"She would be so much better without him. Keep going," Elizabeth huffed.
"I started your jail patient on ice chips. His bowel sounds are returning. Nice guy for a murderer."
